President's Message
By David DeJohn
June, 2010:
I'm starting to settle in to this role as President of NHLA, still not quite sure of what I'm doing or supposed to be doing, but at least getting comfortable with the idea of it. Thanks to everyone for your kind words of support and encouragement.
Seems like every time I write one of these there has been some kind of severe weather event or major environmental disaster. Ice storms, wind storms,and flooding affected us locally; earthquakes, volcanoes, and now the disastrous oil spill down in the Gulf maybe haven't affected our day-to-day lives as much, but we still feel the consequences. There is no way yet to know the enormity of the damage to the Gulf caused by the spill, but we can be pretty certain that it will never be the same. Thousands and thousands of peoples lives and livelihoods are forever changed, countless species of marine animals, fish, and birds as well as sensitive coastal areas, marsh and river tributaries will most likely be destroyed. This one can't be blamed on Mother Nature. This one is our fault.
Our inability to put the environment first, to put the planet first, ahead of profits has set us on a course that may be irreversible. Even if you don't believe that Global Warming is true and caused by humans, why wouldn't you ere on the side of caution? If you are drilling down a mile into the ocean, which in itself is causing damage and pollution to bring up something that once it gets here and is used in its various forms causes even more damage and pollution wouldn't you at least have ALL the available safeguards and technologies ready to go so as to minimize a disaster such as this? Sure that costs a lot of money, eats in to profits, but it sure seems a lot cheaper than the alternative.
In our industry, the "Green Industry," we use an enormous amount of fuel and petroleum products. Trucks, Bobcats, excavators, lawn mowers, weed whackers, blowers, fertilizers, plastic pots are all part of our daily work. When something like the BP spill happens it really makes me think of how much I, as an individual, am also partly responsible for the inevitable accidents that happen. It's easy to blame the big oil companies for polluting our oceans, the coal industry for polluting our air, the mining companies for destroying mountain tops and polluting our rivers and streams. It's always someone else "out there" doing the damage. Let's not forget, however, that they are out there doing those things because we demand it. We still want things to be easy and convenient. We want our cars and boats and riding lawn mowers. We want our computers and cell phones and bottled water. We want all the things that come wrapped in plastic that we then throw away.
It's when we as individuals understand that we are complicit in what is happening to our planet, when we really take responsibility for our own actions, that things will start to change. It's not just some faceless corporation or some scared politician afraid of losing his or her job and power. It's us. It's all of us.
Slowly, very slowly, it's starting to happen. Things that a few years ago only an environmental nut - a tree hugger - would do or say is now slowly coming into the main stream. Being "Green" - although for the most part is still just a catch phrase and something advertisers have jumped on whole heartedly to get us to buy their products - is becoming part of our consciousness. Sure, some of it is a marketing scheme but some of it is actually taking hold and awareness is growing. People are starting to really get it that without a healthy planet there is nothing else. When I see my own Dad choosing a product because it is made from recycled materials as opposed to one that isn't, then I know that there is actually hope!
